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Easy 30-Minute Turkey Chili

Most of the country is in a deep freeze this time of year. Lucky for me I live in San Diego but we do have ‘winter’. Meaning it’s in the low 50s at night. I know, frigid.

So how about a big bowl of chili to warm you up. The chili is easy, hearty comfort food that’s healthy.

Instead of simmering away for hours in a slow cooker or on the stove, this chili is ready in 30 minutes. Perfect for busy weeknight dinners.

The chili has rich flavor with a tiny amount of kick but I wouldn’t say it’s spicy. Add the spices to your taste preferences and you can add more chili powder, add cayenne powder, or use hot green chilis if you want to kick it up.

The recipe is adapted from my Slow Cooker Beef Chili. Rather than using ground beef, I used ground turkey. You can substitute ground beef and make a 30-minute beef chili if you prefer.

Where ever possible I selected low-salt or no-salt added or canned goods. If using traditional versions, add less salt in the beginning and salt to taste at the end. I prefer to control the salt level in my food rather than buying traditional versions of canned goods which are usually very high in sodium and in this recipe would unnecessarily pile salt upon more salt.

Easy 30-Minute Turkey Chili

Yield:serves 8

Total Time:about 30 to 35 minutes

Prep Time:about 10 minutes

Cook Time:about 20 to 25 minutes

The chili is easy, hearty comfort food that’s healthy, and has rich flavor with a tiny amount of kick but I wouldn’t say it’s spicy. Add the spices to your taste preferences. The chili is ready in 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknight dinners. Where ever possible I selected low-salt or no-salt added or canned goods. If using traditional versions, add less salt in the beginning and salt to taste at the end.

Directions:

To a large Dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, turkey, and cook over medium-high heat to brown, crumbling it with a spatula as it cooks and tossing it to ensure even cooking. Cook through, about 5 minutes or as necessary.

Add the onions, red pepper, drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons over the top, stir, and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until vegetables have softened, stir intermittently.

Add the garlic, salt (Note because I used all low-salt or no-salt added products I use 3 teaspoons salt total; if you’re using salted versions of the other ingredients reduce salt level to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon to start with and add more if necessary), pepper, and cook for about 1 minute, stir intermittently.

Depending on how thick you like your chili and if you prefer more broth, you may wish to add up to 8 additional ounces water, chicken or vegetable broth.

Bring to boil and cook for about 10 to 15 or until chili has reduced and thickened some.

Stir, taste, optionally add sugar to taste (I added 2 teaspoons because the sugar balances the acid from the tomatoes and peppers), and add more salt, pepper, or seasonings to taste. Remove bay leaves.

Ladle into bowls and optionally garnish with sour cream, green onions, shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips or crackers. Chili will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. The flavors meld and marry and I think it tastes even better a day or two later.

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

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19 comments on “Easy 30-Minute Turkey Chili”

We are having spring like weather right now but the first couple of weeks of March are supposed to be colder. Chili can easily be a 3 season comfort food in the midwest! I know we’d love this as much as the beef chili!

It was 70 degrees yesterday and 27 today as I type this. The timing of your post this past week was perfect because we were both in the mood for chili. The turkey is a great swap for beef, and as always, we loved this too! A bit of a kick from the chiles and I love the smoked paprika and cumin.

Hi Averie the Chile loos delic we here to have had the temps in the 70*F but will change here by the end of the week and The Chili will hit the spot thank you for coming along with this warm meal at the perfect time. Phyllis

This is the best chili I have ever made and I have been cooking for 33 years. I always change chili recipes because we are never satisfied. The spices in this chili are wonderful. I loved the smoked paprika in this. I did not have fire roasted chilies so I just used green chilies. I will try it again with the fire roasted. I will also try it with grassfed beef for a change. Thanks for such an awesome chili recipe. Everyone loved it!

Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And what high praise, thank you, for saying it’s the best you’ve ever made! I too always tinker with recipes, am never quite satisfied, but glad you love this without changes!

I would say approximately 1 cup. It makes a big pot of chili and I approximate you could get 8 servings from that, maybe more if your servings are smaller. It’s not an exact science for me down to the nitty gritty. You could always make it and then just divide into 8 portions that are exactly the same size if you need to know, exactly.

Seriously THE BEST CHILI I’ve ever made! …. and even better that it’s made with ground turkey for your healthy twist…If you are trying to go with a healthier way of eating and you haven’t found a good recipe for ground turkey, DEFINITELY TRY THIS!!!!

Just made your turkey chili yesterday…it was really really good and good for you! I didn’t get a chance to put in diced green chillis which would have enhanced the flavour even more, but I substitued it with red pepper flakes…I’m sure it would have tasted a bit different? Thank you for the recipe, it came in handy given the arctic-like conditions we’re experiencing this winter.

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Hi, I'm Averie and I'm so glad you've found my site! You'll find fast and easy recipes from dinners to desserts that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!